NIGEL BOWEN APRIL 20, 2022
After partnering with invoice financer Butn, as well as business loan marketplace Valiant, MYOB has launched a new loans and finance hub that removes much of the friction from SME financing.
MYOB’s SME Success Report, released in March, found the digital transformation wrought by the pandemic hadn’t sped up invoice payment times as much as SMEs might have hoped. While 32% of SMEs surveyed in early 2022 said more of their invoices were being paid on time, 38% said they had noticed no change and 22% said that they were having fewer of their invoices paid on time.
The MYOB research echoes countless other studies that show SME owners often have to wait a long time to be paid by their clients, especially if they are large companies, while still needing to make regular payments to staff and suppliers. If an unanticipated expense is added to the equation, business owners can face an existential cashflow crisis.
Most of the time, SMEs can source the extra funds they require from an invoice financer or small business loan provider. But even in a best-case scenario, getting finance involves a not-insignificant amount of time, paperwork and patience. In a worst-case scenario, it can involve agreeing to exorbitant interest payments and harsh terms to avert a looming cashflow crisis.
MYOB’s loan and finance hub, which was officially launched on April 19, aims to change all that. If you’re a customer using MYOB’s browser-based products, you can now log into the hub and, with a few taps on your keyboard, get the money you need, on reasonable terms, in as little as three hours in some cases.
The hub is an outgrowth of MYOB taking a stake in innovative invoice financer Butn in April, 2021, then entering into an exclusive partnership with high-tech business loan marketplace Valiant two months later. Now, if a cash-hungry MYOB customer chooses to go the invoicing financing route, they simply go to the MYOB hub, select an eligible invoice, and request the funds from Butn.
If they want a business loan, they provide some basic information (no credit checks are required to generate quotes). Valiant then leverages its state-of-the-art proprietary technology and relationships with over 80 lenders to generate a selection of no-obligation quotes. Once the SME owner has made their selection, they can commence the process to access the loan.
“The goal is to provide near-frictionless lending for our customers,” says Andrew Baines, MYOB’s general manager of financial services.
“Rather than having to navigate third-party providers, our customers can use MYOB as a one-stop-shop and have the reassurance that comes with borrowing from trusted MYOB partners. Easy and fast access to loans and finance allows our customers to focus on what’s important — running and building their businesses.”
The new hub is only the “first step in the integration between Butn, Valiant and MYOB”, says Baines.
“MYOB’s loans and finance offerings for small businesses will continue to be refined. We aim to continue to improve our customers’ cashflow and make their business processes ever more seamless.”
“MYOB’s loans and finance offerings for small businesses will continue to be refined. We aim to continue to improve our customers’ cashflow and make their business processes ever more seamless.”